A young Thurgoona man tried to cover-up an ultimately accidental crash during a planned attempt at self-harm by reporting the car stolen, a court has heard.
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Daniel Ednie had lost control of his car on a right-hand bend of Atkins Street in South Albury and crashed into a fence.
He then fled and a few hours later, went into Albury police station to claim his car had been pinched.
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CCTV footage in the area of the crash proved what had taken place, showing Ednie's crash and then the accused - who had recently lost his job - walking away.
Albury Local Court magistrate Richard Funston told Ednie, 28, that a crime of the type he committed "just takes up so much time and police resources".
"I take a really dim view of false reporting to police," he said.
Mr Funston said that he for one, as a magistrate, needed to have full confidence in the reports on which police based their prosecutions in court.
"I accept this has taken place in the midst of a major episode for you," he said.
Ednie pleaded guilty to false report resulting in police investigation and to not giving particulars to the owner of damaged property.
Police said Ednie was travelling south on Atkins Street on March 30 just before 6.30am when his car swept off the road into a gutter, just east of Macauley Street.
The vehicle then launched off a 50-centimetre high embankment into a chain-mail fence surrounding a transport company depot.
The car also struck the back of truck parked in the yard.
Ednie made the false report to police around midday, but a little over two hours later he admitted to police he had made it all up.
He was placed on an 18-month conditional release order, without conviction.
